1. Field of the Invention
The invention related generally to fibrous aluminum titanate materials, and more particularly to aluminum titanate and aluminum titanate composite materials including a plurality of fibers composed of aluminum titanate materials.
2. Background
Advanced ceramic materials are commonly utilized in systems located in hostile environments, such as, for example, automotive engines (e.g., catalytic converters), aerospace applications (e.g., space shuttle titles), refractory operations (e.g., firebrick) and electronics (e.g., capacitors, insulators). Porous ceramic bodies are of particular use as filters in these environments. For example, today's automotive industry uses ceramic honeycomb substrates (i.e., a porous ceramic body) to host catalytic oxidation and reduction of exhaust gases, and to filter particulate emissions. Ceramic honeycomb substrates provide high specific surface area for filtration and support for catalytic reactions and, at the same time, are stable and substantially structurally sound at high operating temperatures associated with an automotive engine environment.
In general, ceramic materials, such as for example, aluminum titanate based ceramics, are inert materials that perform well in high temperature environments. However, ceramic materials are not immune to thermal stresses, such as those stresses generated from high thermal gradients and environments that subject the material to thermal excursions between temperature extremes. The performance of ceramic materials exposed to extreme thermal environments is even further challenged when highly porous properties are desired, such as in filtration applications. High porosity aluminum titanate substrate materials as a filtration media and/or catalytic host in high temperature environments are known to degrade and fail in many applications.